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What’s old will be new for GJ firefighters

Photos by DEAN HUMPHREY/The Daily Sentinel—Jim Bright, deputy chief of administration for the Grand Junction Fire Department, looks up to the second floor of the new Station No. 1 along one of the brass poles for quick exit to the firetrucks.

Each firefighter at Station No. 1 now has a small sleeping room.

The new kitchen on the first floor of the Grand Junction Fire Department’s Station No. 1 is one of many renovations at the facility.

For the past year, the Grand Junction Fire Department’s Station No. 1 and the department’s administrative staff have been responding to calls for service from the city’s public works shops on West Avenue near Riverside Parkway.

That temporary relocation away from downtown will soon end.

In October, after all police operations have moved out of the former police station at 625 Ute Ave., the west end of the station will be converted into space for fire administration. The building’s east end, where 911 dispatchers were housed, will be demolished.

A remodeled Station No. 1 to the south is nearly complete and will serve as the firehouse. Firefighters already are moving in equipment and plan to begin operating out of the new fire station once police have moved out of the old police station.

Construction at the former police station is expected to take nine to 10 months, said Jim Bright, deputy chief of administration for the Fire Department.

“For right now we’ll be at public works. We’re going be the orphaned kids that are going to be left behind,” he joked.

Construction on Grand Junction’s old police station was completed in 1958, and the western end was remodeled in 1984. Artist renderings of the new building indicate the new space will be built up to the northern edge of Station No. 1. The remodeled firehouse and the fire administration building will face the new police station, forming a T.

“(The building) will be half of what it currently is,” Bright said of the conversion of a police building to one for fire staff.

Here’s a look at renovations by the Grand Junction Fire Department:

FIRE STATION NO. 1:

■ The second floor previously housed living and sleeping quarters. Fifteen small, private dorm rooms and laundry facilities now take up the top floor. Renovated living quarters are downstairs with an industrial-like kitchen.

■ An addition of 800 square feet on both first floor and second floors.

■ Two fire poles in the building remain intact.

■ A vehicle bay that was sectioned in two halves has been opened up. Extra space can accommodate another ambulance or battalion vehicle.

■ An expanded bay room and a report-writing area for fire crews.

■ A remodeling of the adjacent, west end of the former police building for fire administration. Construction is expected to start in October.

■ Three double-wide trailers on the east side of the police area will be donated. The area will revert to parking.

■ Current work on new parking lots and landscaping to the east of Fire Station No. 1 to coordinate with overall upgrades.

■ A decontamination room off the vehicle bay will allow firefighters to better clean off hazardous materials, allowing more separation from toxins.

FIRE STATION NO. 2:

■ Construction to begin in October to create an addition on the south side.

■ Addition of two sleeping rooms, a workout room and a remodeling of the kitchen and bathrooms.